ALASKA PIPELINE: Amy Gwin, 43, of University City, grew up in Alaska and competed in the Miss Wasilla, Alaska, competition in 1984 against GOP vice presidential choice Sarah Palin. Gwin said Friday that she won the Miss Congeniality award in the competition, although Palin’s Wikipedia entry says she won the contest — and the Miss Congeniality award. Gwin was a year behind Palin, now 44, at Wasilla High School, which had about 800 students. Gwin said Palin was “a high school star in a good way,” a beauty who got good grades and excelled at athletics. Gwin, who was president of her class, does not recall Palin holding school office. The Wikipedia entry on Palin said she was head of the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes and captain of the basketball team. Gwin said she was not surprised when Palin became the governor of Alaska, but is astonished that she got the GOP nod for vice president. Asked whether she would support Palin because she knows her, Gwin said: “I wouldn’t support her if she was my very best friend. I support Obama and don’t share any of her (Palin’s) politics. She’s very shallow.”

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was not subjected to a lengthy in-person background interview with the head of Sen. John McCain's vice presidential vetting team until last Wednesday in Arizona, the day before McCain asked her to be his running mate, and she did not disclose the fact that her 17-year-old daughter was pregnant until that meeting, two knowledgeable McCain officials acknowledged Tuesday.

In an attempt to inflate her non-existant foreign policy credentials, Palin's spokespeople stated shortly after her nomination that she had travelled to Germany, Kuwait, and Ireland: you know, the three countries most likely to give rise to catastrophic national security emergencies in the next four years.

But not only is Palin's travel history unimpressive, it was also being blatantly misrepesented. According Jim Aravois an Irish blogger has just revealed that Palin was in Ireland for a brief refueling layover.

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Never retreat, never explain, never apologize--get the thing done and let them howl. -- Nellie McClung

"Wives be subject to your husbands, as unto the Lord." So says the Christian scriptures in Ephesians, 5:22. What I would like to know, first of all, is who is going to have the final authority as Vice-President if Sarah Palin is elected, Palin or her husband? In fact, I think the first order of business with Palin is to ask her to give the same kind of speech that was demanded of John F. Kennedy re his Catholicism. Kennedy said he would obey the Constitution over the Pope. Will Palin obey the Constitution over her husband?

I don't think it is. The columnist answered that in her column: in matters of the family she's subject to him. In matters of the country, she'll be subject to whomever tells her what to do, i.e. McCain. For one thing, she's no Cheney.

I think the "secular left" is going to have to modify some of its rhetoric, and be more focused regarding Palin. There are too many reckless accusations being thrown around. Or it could just let the Republican party tear itself apart over her, because the more attacks she gets from outside the party, the more the religious vote will circle the wagons around her.

In the aftermath of the Walt Monegan firing, one question keeps surfacing over and over again; why does the governor's husband, Todd Palin appear to hold so much power?After all, Nancy Murkowski or Susan Knowles were never accused of pressuring a commissioner or inappropriately sitting in on meetings that should have been private.The stories started last year when Representative Ralph Samuels told me about going into a meeting, he thought would be private, with Governor Sarah Palin. Much to his surprise, Todd Palin was there and proceeded to sit through the entire meeting.Other lawmakers have shared similar stories and were shocked at how inappropriate Todd's presence was at meetings with the governor. Yesterday on the Dan Fagan Show, Representative Jay Ramras mentioned that Todd was working lawmakers offices during the ACES debate. But more importantly, Todd's fingerprints on trying to impact personnel decisions appear to go beyond the current scandal revolving around State Trooper Mike Wooten.Consider the story of one of Governor Palin's former trusted advisors, John Bitney.Bitney grew up with the governor, often telling the story of being in the same band class. He served as her Issues Coordinator during her successful gubernatorial campaign in 2006, spokesman for her transition team after the election and on December 1, 2006 he was named her Legislative Liaison.Bitney was respected as a hard worker by people who knew him and worked with him. In six months, Bitney guided the governor's policies through the legislature, including her hallmark legislation; AGIA.But John Bitney made the fatal employment mistake; he got on the bad side of Todd Palin. In June of 2007, it became known that Bitney was dating the soon to be ex-wife of Todd Palin's good friend. Palin reportedly began demanding that Bitney be fired.After a short time, Bitney realized that he couldn't remain in the governor's office due to the constant pressure and he worked out a deal with Chief of Staff Mike Tibbles to take a transfer to another department.On July 3, Bitney was in the process of driving his vehicle back to Juneau when he couldn't get his state issued Blackberry to work. When he arrived in Tok he called his office and was told that his Blackberry had been turned off and that his name had been removed from the state employee directory.His call was then transferred into Tibbles who told him the proposal they talked about was a no deal and the governor ordered him fired immediately. John Bitney was never given a reason why he was fired and never given a chance to make a graceful exit.

It is when we all play safe that we create a world of utmost insecurity. It is when we all play safe that fatality will lead us to our doom. It is in the "dark shade of courage" alone that the spell can be broken.-- Dag Hammarskjöld

It is when we all play safe that we create a world of utmost insecurity. It is when we all play safe that fatality will lead us to our doom. It is in the "dark shade of courage" alone that the spell can be broken.-- Dag Hammarskjöld

just listened to the cbc radio one news at 6 report about the repugs convention. not a word about the more than 300 arrested outside the convention centre or the police brutality in the arrests and the jails, but a few questions about palin and her pregnant daughter who was with her on the tarmac holding hands with her boyfriend, levi, as they awaited mcsame.

i couldn't help feeling that it's a sham, a scam--that the pregnant daughter is not really pregnant...

it's the same kind of feeling i had when i sat on a bus traveling from regina to vancouver and i learned that planes had flown into the twin towers and i said, ''george bush did it.''

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Never retreat, never explain, never apologize--get the thing done and let them howl. -- Nellie McClung